Healing Through Heritage
The United States helps preserve sites of conscience and collections linked to historically significant individuals and events.
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Exterior Courtyard (2019) by U.S. Embassy Phnom PenhCultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Sites of Conscience and Collections of Significance
The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) helps preserve cultural heritage sites around the world – including those associated with darker aspects of human history, including war, repression, and atrocities.
By acknowledging tragic past events, we help create of spaces for remembrance, healing, reflection, and education. AFCP-supported projects at sites of conscience preserve and repurpose cultural heritage sites to foster reconciliation while keeping their stories, experiences, and the associated lessons of history alive.
Conservation of the Valongo (Imperatriz) Wharf Archaeological Site (19th Century)Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Valongo Wharf, Brazil, 2018
Valongo Wharf, the largest port of landing of enslaved Africans in the Americas, had been mostly lost to history until it was uncovered during the redevelopment of Rio de Janeiro’s port area in 2011.
Conservation of the Valongo (Imperatriz) Wharf Archaeological Site (19th Century)Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Today the Wharf is an important place of identity and history for many of the 97 million people of African descent who live in Brazil.
Conservation of the Valongo (Imperatriz) Wharf Archaeological Site (19th Century)Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
The AFCP-supported project restored the remaining stone pavement and other features, creating a suitable space for visitation and education that honors the resilience and contributions of Africans in the development of the Americas.
Conservation of the Historical Collections of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (20th century)Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, South Africa, 2013
Located in Johannesburg, the Centre of Memory serves a critical role in preserving the legacy of Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, a global icon of resistance against apartheid, and a champion of peace, reconciliation, and social justice.
Conservation of the Historical Collections of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (20th century)Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
The project in the Mandela Centre of Memory worked towards deacidification of paper, photos, and posters. Central to the Centre’s mission are its extensive collections of Mandela’s personal writings, resistance art, and items that the Centre has conserved with the AFCP grant.
Digitizing Artifact (2019) by U.S. Embassy Santo DomingoCultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Collection of Sosua Jewish Museum, Dominican Republic, 2019
The Jewish Museum in Sosua is the repository of historical documents and objects related to the community founded by the nearly 800 European Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany for the Dominican Republic during World War II.
Digitization Process at The Sosua Jewish Museum (2019) by U.S. Embassy Santo DomingoCultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Preserved with AFCP support, the records of the Dominican Republic Settlement Association that oversaw the day-to-day management of the community underscore the truly global dimensions of the largest and most devastating armed conflict of the 20th century.
Dominican Republic stamps commemorating the Jewish refugee settlement in Sosua are among items digitized to enhance access to the Sosua Museum Collection.
Conservation of 20th-Century Ethnographic Objects at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (20th Century)Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, Cambodia, 2019
A school repurposed for use as a security prison and interrogation center known as S-21 during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, Toul Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh endures as a memorial to the thousands of victims tortured and killed at this site in the late 1970s.
The victims’ clothing and personal effects, preserved with AFCP support are now on display at the Museum. They serve as powerful reminders of the need for constant vigilance in the protection of human rights and the prevention of atrocities.
Nyamata Church Rwanda , 2018:
The Ambassadors Fund supported the restoration of Rwanda’s Nyamata Church, a poignant genocide memorial. This initiative preserved the Church’s integrity and ethnographic objects, honoring victims and fostering education, healing and reconciliation.
Two AFCP grants helped preserve the building and the ethnographic objects it houses to honor victims and to foster education, healing, and reconciliation.
Once the largest church in the region, Nyamata Church remains a vital historical monument and continues to draw together community members of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Conservation of Rock Art (20,000 BC - 16th Century AD)Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. Department of State
Through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, ECA’s Cultural Heritage Center demonstrates its commitment to sites and stories that promote reconciliation, stability, and unity among people and cultures worldwide.
